Complete Game Notes
Game #19: Washburn (10-8, 4-5 MIAA) at Lincoln (3-15, 0-9 MIAA)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Site: Jason Gym (1,538) in Jefferson City, Mo.
Tickets: Adults - $5.00 | LU Faculty & Staff/Non-LU Students - $3.00 | LU Students & Kids 5 and Under – Free
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/
THE TIP OFF: The Lincoln women's basketball team closes the month of January at home on Wednesday (Jan. 29) when the Blue Tigers host Washburn in Jason Gym at 5:30 p.m. CST. LU will try to get back in the win column after dropping two games in Oklahoma last week. The Blue Tigers fell to Northeastern State, 67-47, on Thursday (Jan. 23) before dropping a high-scoring game at Rogers State, 99-75, on Saturday (Jan. 25). Lincoln will attempt to stop the skid against a Washburn squad that enters with a 10-8 overall record and a 4-5 mark in MIAA play, but is just 1-5 in true road games in 2019-20. The Ichabods have won each of their past two games, including defeating Newman, 70-53, in Topeka, Kan. on Saturday afternoon.
FAST BREAKS
- On Wednesday, Lincoln and Washburn will play one another for the 29th time.
- The Blue Tigers are playing for their first victory in the series, as the Ichabods have won each of the past 28 games.
- Lincoln is 1-0 in games played on Wednesday this year, with the victory being a 93-37 win over MacMurray in Jason Gym.
- LU is 3-6 inside Jason Gym in 2019-20.
- Lincoln is seeking its first MIAA win of 2019-20.
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS: With 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per night, Vivian Chigbu is averaging close to a double-double and leads LU on the glass. Kaloni Pryear is scoring a team-high 16.3 points per game, and Kyessence Collins, leads Lincoln with 2.9 assists per contest and averages 6.9 points.
HEAD COACH AYANA McWILLIAMS: A five-year veteran of the Division I ranks, McWilliams is in her fourth year as the head coach at Lincoln. Last season, McWilliams led the Blue Tigers to a 7-0 start, the best in program history. McWilliams previously worked as an assistant at South Carolina Upstate, a Division I program, and also was an assistant at Elizabeth City.
LAST TIME OUT
Northeastern State 67, Lincoln 47
It was a four point game at halftime, but NSU scored 41 second-half points en route to a 67-47 victory in Tahlequah, Okla. last Thursday (Jan. 23). Vivian Chigbu posted her sixth double-double of the season, leading LU with 13 rebounds while chipping in 11 points. Kaloni Pryear led Lincoln with 13 points while Kyessence Collins added 11 points and Natasha Dolinsky dished four assists.
Rogers State 99, Lincoln 75
Rogers State became just the third team to make over 50-percent of their shots against Lincoln, as the Hillcats ended the game shooting .574 from the field on the way to a 99-75 win on Saturday (Jan. 25). Virja Lewis had a career day for Lincoln with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyessence Collins had 13 points and four assists. Natasha Elliott had 12 points and four boards on the day.
SCOUTING THE ICHABODS: Reagan Phelan (12.7 ppg.), Hunter Bentley (13.0 ppg.) and Shelbe Piggie (12.0 ppg.) are Washburn's top scorers, with Phelan leading the team with 5.1 assists per night. Bentley averages a team-high 7.0 rebounds, and Alexis McAfee is tallying 9.3 points and 5.6 boards. Bentley also leads the team in steals with 34.
WU HEAD COACH RON McHENRY: In his 20 seasons leading the Ichabods, McHenry has won over 450 games, including the 2004-05 Division II National Championship. McHenry has won eight MIAA regular season and seven tournament titles, winning more than 200 conference games in the process.
DOUBLE THE FUN: Vivian Chigbu has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in six games in 2019-20 and averages 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Chigbu, who twice has eclipsed 20 points in a game, is tied with Fort Hays State's Belle Barbieri for the most double-doubles in the MIAA.
ON THE REBOUND: The Blue Tigers have established themselves as one of the MIAA's best rebounding teams, as Lincoln is second in the league in total rebounds per game (40.6) and leads the conference in offensive boards (16.2). Nationally, LU is 18th in DII in offensive boards.
KY'S THE KEY: Kyessence Collins has given LU an immediate impact since joining the lineup on Dec. 14, including dishing 23 assists for a 2.9 apg. average that leads the team. Collins had nine points, five assists and five rebounds in her debut performance against Hannibal-LaGrange, and is averaging 6.9 points & 3.0 boards for the season.
A GLOBAL TEAM: The 2019-20 Blue Tigers are representing six countries: Australia (Natasha Elliott and assistant coach Graham McFall); Spain (Anna Munoz Vidueira); Nigeria (Vivian Chigbu); Uruguay (Natasha Dolinsky); Bosnia & Herzegovina (Vedrana Radosavljevic); and, of course, the United States of America.
GOOD ON THE GLASS: Vivian Chigbu reached double figures in rebounding in each of the first four games and currently is third in the MIAA while rating 72nd in the nation in rebounds per game with 8.7. Her total of 157 rebounds is the fourth-most in the MIAA.
PRYEAR SUCCESS: Kaloni Pryear, who started 14 games and made 19 total appearances a year ago, is Lincoln's scoring leader in 2019-20. Pryear opened the year with 18 points against Southern Arkansas and has reached double digits 16 times this year. That includes four 20-point performances, highlighted by scoring a career-high 26 vs. Maryville.
TO THE TENS: Kaloni Pryear is having an outstanding season offensively, averaging 16.3 points per game to lead LU and rank fifth in the MIAA. In 16 of the 17 games she's played, Pryear has scored at least 10 points, and she has reached the 20-point plateau four times. Pryear has made 108 field goals, the fourth-most in the MIAA, while her .460 field goal percentage is eighth in the league.
STEAL-GULL: Alecia Gulledge leads Lincoln with 30 steals, with her 1.9 takeaways per game ranking sixth in the MIAA. Gulledge, who joins Natasha Dolinsky and Vivian Chigbu in the top-20 of the MIAA rankings for steals per game, has helped Lincoln post the league's sixth-best team average of 9.0 takeaways per contest.
BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS: Whether she's on offense or defense, very few players rebound as well as Vivian Chigbu. Her 4.0 offensive rebounds per game are second in the MIAA and 18th nationally while her 4.7 defensive boards per game are 11th in the conference.
THE ROTATION KEEPS SPINNING: Lincoln has changed up its lineup in nearly every game, using 14 different starting fives in 18 games in 2019-20. Ten Blue Tigers have made at least three starts, with only Vivian Chigbu having made as many as 17.
DOLING SOME HELP: Natasha Dolinsky leads the Blue Tigers with 36 total assists for 2.0 per game. She also has 29 steals, tied for the 15th-most in the MIAA, and four blocks on the year, and Dolinsky is scoring 6.6 points per night while averaging 3.1 rebounds.
GEAR UP FOR THE GAME: Get your Blue Tiger jerseys, apparel, accessories, office supplies and much, much more at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store of LU athletics. You can get everything you will need for basketball season, with a portion of all sales going directly to support all 12 LU athletic programs.
NEXT UP: The Blue Tigers remain at home next Saturday (Feb. 1) to take on Emporia State in a 1:00 p.m. CST contest.
